Chili Garlic Tofu Bowls

$5.72 recipe / $1.43 serving

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m just coming back from vacation and am all like, “I need healthy food!” So, I prepared these Chili Garlic Tofu Bowls to eat for lunch the rest of the week. They’re packed with protein, fiber, and lots of vibrant colors and flavors. That’s exactly what I need to keep both my stomach and brain feeling full. I’ve actually been looking forward to lunch every day this week and finding myself thinking things like, “Is 10:30 too early for lunch?” LOL

I’ve only recently gotten into tofu and am still experimenting with cooking methods. My favorite method previously had been coating pressed tofu with cornstarch, then pan frying. This time I decided to experiment with skipping the cornstarch all together. Guess what? The tofu was still pleasantly crispy and had a wonderful texture and mouthfeel. I might still do the cornstarch step on occasion, but skipping that step is definitely faster and easier.

I made a super simple spicy-sweet sauce for the tofu, which gave it all the flavor it needed without having to marinate. The tofu absorbed the sauce quickly in the skillet and turned the otherwise boring little tofu bricks into tasty little bites that I couldn’t stop stealing out of the skillet. I will probably make another batch immediately after I finish eating these bowls, and just eat them as is. They are that good.

This bowl isn’t a “saucy” dish, so if you like bowls to have dressing or a sauce to bring everything together you might try something like sriracha mayo or sweet chili sauce. A few creamy slices of avocado would also be an awesome addition if you want even more colors, flavors, and textures.

CHILI GARLIC TOFU

BOWLS

4cupscooked brown rice $0.64

1lime $0.33

1/4bunch cilantro (optional)$0.25

Instructions

Remove the tofu from its package and wrap it in a clean, lint-free kitchen towel or a few layers of paper towel. Place the wrapped tofu between two plates and place something heavy on top (like a pot full of water). Let the tofu press for at least 30 minutes.

While the tofu is pressing, prepare the kale. Remove the stems from the kale, then cut the leaves into one-inch wide strips. Rinse the leaves well in a colander with cool water. Let drain.

Mince the garlic and add it to large pot with one tablespoon cooking oil. Sauté over medium heat for about one minute. Add the washed kale and continue to stir and cook until the kale is wilted (about five minutes). Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Set the kale aside.

Prepare the sauce for the tofu. In a small bowl, stir together the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Once the tofu is finished pressing, cut it into small cubes or rectangles.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add one tablespoon of cooking oil. Tilt the skillet to make sure the surface is completely covered. Add the tofu pieces. Let them fry until golden brown on bottom, then flip and fry until golden brown on the other side. Continue until the pieces are golden brown on most sides. (The tofu will stick until it is browned, at which point it will loosen from the skillet, so don't try to move or flip the tofu pieces too early.)

Once the tofu is browned on most sides, turn off the heat, pour the prepared chili garlic sauce into the skillet, and stir to coat. The sauce will thicken slightly and absorb into the tofu.

To build the bowls, add one cup of cooked rice to each bowl along with 1/4 of the sesame kale and 1/4 of the chili garlic tofu pieces. Slice a lime into wedges and serve each bowl with one or two wedges and a few sprigs of fresh cilantro. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the bowl just before eating.

Recipe Notes

*The chili garlic sauce I used is a store-bought sauce made by Huy Fong. Scroll down to see photos of the package. It's a chunky mixture of red chiles, garlic, and vinegar. You can also use sambal oelek or sriracha.

Step by Step Photos

Remove a 14oz. block of tofu from its package and wrap it in a clean, lint-free kitchen towel or a few layers of paper towel. Place the wrapped tofu between two plates, then set something heavy on top to press it. Let it press for about 30 minutes (or while you’re preparing the kale). My tofu came in two pieces in the package this time, but it still works the same.

Remove the stems from one bunch of kale, then stack the leaves and cut them into one-inch wide strips. Rinse the kale in a colander with cool running water. (For more detailed instructions and photos of the sesame kale portion of this bowl, see the Sesame Kale blog post.)

Mince two cloves of garlic and add them to a large pot along with one tablespoon of cooking oil. Sauté over medium heat for about one minute, then add the washed kale. Continue to stir and cook until the kale has wilted (about five minutes). Once wilted, add 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and 1 Tbsp sesame seeds. Stir to coat. Set the kale aside.

The base for my sauce is this chili garlic sauce. It’s just a chunky mixture of red chiles, garlic, vinegar, and salt. It’s like sriracha’s more rustic cousin and it’s good on pretty much anything you’d put sriracha on.

This is what the sauce looks like up close. You should be able to find this in the Asian foods aisle of major grocery stores, near the sriracha. If you can’t find it, sambal oelek and sriracha also work well.

To make the sauce for the tofu, mix 2 Tbsp of that chili garlic sauce with 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp brown sugar. Set the prepared sauce aside.

When the tofu is finished pressing, cut it into small cubes or rectangles. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil and tilt the skillet to make sure the surface if completely covered. Add the tofu cubes and let them fry until golden brown on the bottom. They WILL stick until they are browned, at which point they will loosen. So, don’t try to move them around or flip them early or else they’ll break apart and you’ll have a mess. :) Once browned, flip and brown again. Continue until they’re browned on most sides.

Once browned, turn off the heat, pour the prepared sauce over the tofu, and stir to coat. The sauce will thicken just a bit and absorb into the tofu making them insanely delicious.

I mean REALLY DELICIOUS. I ate a few. I couldn’t help it.

Anyway, to build the bowls just put one cup cooked rice (or whatever grain is your favorite–I used brown jasmine rice) in a bowl and add 1/4 of the sesame kale and 1/4 of the chili garlic tofu pieces. Slice a lime into wedges and add a couple wedges to each bowl, along with a couple sprigs of fresh cilantro (optional). Squeeze the lime over the Chili Garlic Tofu Bowls just before eating and enjoy!! …I know I did. ;)

50 comments on “Chili Garlic Tofu Bowls”

Wow! This was our first budgetbytes recipe and we are THRILLED! Ive been making tofu for years but this is the best homemade tofu I’ve ever made. I never realized the trick about waiting for the tofu to brown enough for it to release from the pan! I’m also not a huge fan of sesame so I was worried I wouldn’t love the kale – but the sauce is the perfect combo of flavors. I wish we had doubled the recipe! We will definitely be bringing this into our normal rotation.

This is my first time cooking with tofu, and this recipe was awesome! I had the tofu brown on the stove for a bit longer to get it really nice and crispy. I never really liked tofu, but I realize now that I just prefer crispy tofu. I’m excited to try the other tofu recipes on this blog!

I made this recipe but didn’t have chili garlic paste so used chili bean paste instead… the tofu was sooo good!! And so was the sesame kale! I was floored at how simple but delicious the whole thing was. I’m going to be making this so many more times ♡ Thanks for this great recipe!

Tonight is my second time making this recipe (well, third time pressing tofu, but one time the block had gone bad so I did all the work for nothing) and I’ve done the heavy pot method for pressing each time. It’s gotten the water out but the sides sort of smush out from the block and get very crumbly. I get very few actually square pieces out of a brick of tofu. YES I am using extra firm! How do I keep it nice and square while still removing the water?

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »